1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pistons for internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to those having a unified piston skirt coupled to pin bosses of the piston by skirt panels.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
Pistons for internal combustion engines can be made of various metals and are often die cast from a light metal such as aluminum or alloys of aluminum. Such pistons include a piston head formed with a plurality of ring grooves for accommodating piston rings and a pair of pin bosses project downwardly from the piston head and formed with axially aligned pin bores for receiving a wrist pin to couple the piston to an associated connecting rod of the engine. Such pistons further include a pair of skirt portions each joined to the pin bosses by associated skirt panels which are typically planer or curved in shape.